‘Postcards from Juno’: Memories of fallen soldiers on D-Day sent 75 years later to Canadian homes

Hundreds of Canadians are about to receive proof of their personal, largely unknown links to one of the defining events of the 20th century. An organization dedicated to commemorating Canada's role in the Second World War will be mailing out postcards, one of which is shown in a handout, to the former homes of soldiers who died in the first five days of the pivotal D-Day campaign, which helped secure victory for allied troops against Germany.

THE CANADIAN PRESS/ Hand out- Juno Beach Centre Association

Check your mail because this year is the 75th anniversary of D-Day and postcards are being sent to anyone that currently lives in the homes of the fallen soldiers.

The Juno Beach Centre Association (JBCA) started the project in order to connect this generation of Canadians to the hundreds of soldiers who died during the Battle of Normandy, from June 6, 1944 to June 10, 1944.

The grassroots organization have begun sending personalized postcards to homes all across Canada, which include the soldier’s name, rank, and their age.

Mike Bechthold, executive director of the JBCA, said in a press release that letting someone know that a Canadian war hero left their house 75 years ago is a very special way of preserving the stories of these soldiers.

“It’s also a unique way to bridge the years and connect generations so young people today can get a glimpse into the lives of the young soldiers who once lived in their very homes – all of them volunteers,” said Bechthold.

Canada’s objective on D-Day was to storm Juno Beach and reach a railway line that would link British troops and create a defense against German counter-attacks, said the JBCA in a press release.

Over the following three days, 903 Canadian soldiers died during a series of bloody battles against German counter-attacks. The release said this ultimately held off any attacks to the front line in France.

Lisa Murray, an organizer at the JBCA, told Global News on Tuesday the organization wants to honour the veterans and the people that didn’t come home.

“We had the application papers of those who joined the military and on that they had their home addressees,” said Murray. “We had 903 people unfortunately who died and wanted to send post cards.”

Sadly, they won’t have a chance to send them back to their home addressees, but now their memories can be shared with the current residents.